I am here...

Gadis dan Bunga

Yesterday Mak Lijah attended convocation anak saudara Mak Lijah di UNITEN. Penuh warna-warni dengan bunga.

Teringat jaman Mak Lijah terima ijazah dolu-dolu kat Dewan Tuanku Syed Putra, USM. Masa tu terasa amat meriah. Pesta konvonya dekat saja dengan Dewan Canselor. Betul-betul pesta. Seronok rasanya.

Berbanding dengan USM, Mak Lijah keliru pula samada UNITEN ada buat ke idak Pesta Konvonya seperti universiti-universiti lain. Ataupun tempat berlangsungnya Pesta Konvo tu di tempat lain, berjauhan dengan dewan tempat menerima ijazah. Macam tu ke? Aiseh... terlepas lah pulak.

Masa berlangsungnya penyampaian ijazah tu, Mak Lijah dapat sakit kepala pulak sebab cuaca yang panas terik ditambah lagi sebab terpaksa lepak kat khemah atas jalan tar sambil melihat berlangsungnya majlis menerusi kaca tv saja. Tak dapatpun masuk Dewan yang dingin tu, kuota dah penuh. Kalau kat USM, kaum keluarga lain dapat juga duduk dalam sebuah dewan khas yang dingin sambil menonton lintas langsung dari situ. Selesai saja majlis, hujanpun turun renyai-renyai. Patutlah panas tadi...

Apa-apapun, Mak Lijah seronok juga sebab anak saudara Mak Lijah ni, dah berjaya mendapat segulung ijazah. Terasa macam baru minggu lepas menghantar dia ke kampus di Muadzam Shah. Cepatnya masa berlalu...

Jangan Bergaduh!

Last weekend Mak Lijah pergi lunch di Salero Negori kat Hartamas dengan Kakak and Danisy. Mak Lijah drove agak laju, about 120 km/h kat Jalan Kuching sebab takut terlambat, lauk habis. Masa tu tengok jam keter dah pukul 2.18 pm. Ini gara-gara tunggu lawyer yang lambat datang ke rumah lah. If not we all dah bersiap pukul 12.00 tgh lagi.

Mujurlah ada banyak lagi lauknya dan tak ramai orang, cuma tiga meja jer occupied. Mungkin sebab hari Sabtu. Kalau hari lain, kadang-kadang tu pukul 1.15 pm pun lauk dah habis. Sampai jer kat restoran tu, Mak Lijah suruh Kakak dan Danisy duduk kat satu meja kat sudut tu dan terus order lauk-pauk kegemaran Mak Lijah, gulai urat, ayam goreng berempah, masak lemak tempoyak pucuk ubi dll pucuk lagi + petai, pegedil dan kari ayam untuk Kakak.

Selang sebuah meja dari meja kami ada ler 2-3 orang perempuan dan seorang kanak-kanak about Danisy's age sedang menjamu selera. Kakak dan Danisy yang memang lapar dari tadi betul-betul concentrate makan tapi kumat-kamit mulut tak sudah-sudah, pot-pet...pot-pet... Mak Lijah pun enjoy gak ler makan sebab dah lama tak ke situ.

Habis makan jer Kakak and Danisy pun ke belakang nak basuh tangan sementara Mak Lijah buat operasi DBKL - menghabiskan lauk. Sedang asyik membuat operasi tu, Mak Lijah paling ke belakang dan ternampak imej Kakak kat cermin almari sedang menarik-narik sesuatu. Mak Lijah rasa pelik sebab it's so unlikely that Kakak would be pulling Danisy's hand. Tiba-tiba Mak Lijah dengar suara Kakak dah jadi semakin kuat, "Dah lah tu, jangan bergaduh."

Alamak! Lagilah pelik! It's so unlikely that Danisy would be involved in a fight! Mak Lijahpun bingkas bangun dan terus meluru ke arah budak-budak tu. At the same time, Kakak dah berjalan ke arah Mak Lijah memegang tangan Danisy dan budak yang duduk kat meja tadi tu mengekor Danisy dengan tangan ada gaya nak memukul Danisy.

Oh my God! Apa dah jadi ni? Mak Lijah cepat-cepat tarik tangan Danisy, berlakon sikit dan bertanya kuat-kuat kat Danisy sambil berjalan ke meja kami...

"Kenapa Adik? Dia buat apa kat Adik?"

"Dia cubit Danisy."

"Danisy cubit dia ke? Kakak, what happened?"

"Tak tahu... Budak tu tak bagi Kakak dengan Danisy lalu, lepas tu tiba-tiba jer dia tarik baju Danisy. Lepas tu dia cubit tangan Danisy. Kakak pun dia cubit. Kat sini..." (menunjuk kat perut)

(Ni masih dalam babak lakonan sebab suara sedikit kuat dan lakonan ala-ala loyar soal-balas saksi)

"Ishh... takkan lah dia saja-saja cubit Danisy? Habis tu? Danisy buat apa?"

"Tak buat apa-apa. Danisy tarik balik baju Danisy je."

"Danisy tak cubit dia balik?"

"Tak..." (Masa ni Mak Lijah rasa bangga sikit.)

Tiba-tiba...

"Excuse me? Anak you kena cubit ke? Itu mesti anak I yang cubit. Kat mana dia cubit?"

"Eh, it's ok.. Budak-budak..."

"No, it's not. Dia ni nak berkawan, tapi kasar sikit."

And she left just to come back with the boy.

"XYZ, salam... and say sorry."

Danisy pun angkat tangan dia untuk bersalam, tapi si XYZ tu tak angkat pun tangan dan pandang tempat lain.

"Danisy, salam..? "

Danisy pun salam dengan budak tu, feeling puzzled (I guess dia tak paham kenapa dia pulak yang kena beriya hulur tangan sebab yang buat salah is that boy).

Danisy pun minum air sirap dan ajak Mak Lijah pulang. I can't help but feel proud that Danisy did not retaliate to that boy. But is that good for long? He will grow up and would probably meet all sorts of people yang lebih ganas dari tu. Imagine if both of them were 18, macamana, ek?

Should I teach him kick-boxing?

Mak Lijah's Birthday Cupcake

That's about it.

Mak Lijah's Birthday Cupcake on a cute Japanese saucer.

25

No... I cannot be 25 years 'young'.

Mak Lijah diakadnikahkan dengan Pak Lijah on 25 December, tahun Islam was 1 Rejab. Christmas Day. Banyak cerita-cerita best malam tu terpaksa dikorbankan sebab Pak Lijah nak datang...

I graduated from USM when I was 25. Masa tu baru kawen dengan Pak Lijah. Masih lagi di alam bulan madu.

Kakak was born on 25 June 1998.

Sean Connery, was born on 25 August 1930.



...and Happy Birthday to me, 25 July, today...

min·i·mal·ist

being or offering no more than what is required or essential

A couple of weeks ago Mak Lijah sekeluarga pergi ke sekolah Abang for their open day. Abang had to sell school T-shirts kat gerai dia. We all lepak-lepak jer around the school compound sambil melayan Adik yang kejap nak tengok fish, sekejap nak makan sushi dan macam-macam lagilah yang dia nak buat. Macam baru terlepas dari kandang.

Ramai juga ibubapa yang datang memberi sokongan moral kepada anak-anak mereka seperti kami. Tak kurang juga ada budak-budak yang mengambil kesempatan memandu kereta ibubapa mereka ke sekolah pada hari tu, Perdana, Mercedes, Volvo dan sebagainyalah. Masa itu jugalah masing-masing nak menayang girlfriend masing-masing.

Masa dok lepak kat 'pondok' depan gerai-gerai tu, Mak Lijah peratikan juga gelagat budak-budak sekolah dia, girls and boys. Although sekolah Abang is an all-boys school, student perempuan ada juga, yang belajar di tingkatan 6. Tapi yang Mak Lijah dok asyik peratikan tu, rasanya bukan budak Melayu tingkatan 6 lah. Asyik benar berkepit berpasang-pasangan.

MashaAllah... min:i:mal:ist sungguh! Jangankan skirt pun kat peha paling atas, baju/blaus pun sehabis sikit yang mungkin! Yang bersinglet pon ada, yang micro mini skirt tu.. aduh... dengan ketatnya sesendat yang mungkin - macam sarung nangka. Memang tak sampai setengah meter kain pun diguna untuk menjahit skirt tu. Rasa nak tarik-tarik jer skirt budak-budak tu. Dan yang lebih menyakitkan mata tu, they are still young, not more than 15. Mana datang budak-budak Melayu ni? Melayu kota? Isshh... Malunya Mak Lijah budak-budak sekolah ni berpakaian macam tu. Agaknya boyfriend diorang ni ada competition kut, nak tengok girlfriend siapa yang paling minimal dalam berfesyen. Lagi minimum, lagi HOT gamaknya.

Dah tua sangat ke Mak Lijah sampai dah berfikiran macam tu, hah? Conservative sangat ke Mak Lijah dalam berfesyen ni?

Rasanya kalau bab menjaga maruah ni, dia tak ikut zaman ibubapa dilahirkan, kan? Apa dah jadi dengan budak-budak perempuan Melayu ni? Ibubapa tak beri panduan ke? Ataupun ibu merekapun sememangnya berpakaian macam tu?

Selamat Hari Ayah, Ayah!

I know it's a bit too late to talk about this, tapi baru hari ni Mak Lijah jumpa gambar Ayah dengan Mak ni. Tahun ni Mak Lijah tak sempat nak hantar kad to Ayah. Tapi we still called him malam tu. Happy Ayah's Day, Ayah!

Back to this picture. Gambar ni diambil masa both of them came to KL just after I arrived back home from Davos. We took them to Bukit Cerakah to fulfill Ayah's wish of visiting the Taman Iklim kat Bukit Cerakah tu. Kebetulan pula masa pergi tu, memang "musim sejuk" dan tengah "snowing". Dah lama Ayah mengidam nak pergi Bukit Cerakah ni. Seingat-ingat Mak Lijah, Ayah pernah sebut teringin nak pergi situ masa Abang was only five years old. So must have been like some nine years ago. Maknanya it took us that many years to finally bring him there. Padahal bukannya jauh sangatpun.

Ayah was happy, walaupun menggigil sebab suhu bawah 0 darjah dan tak bawa apa-apa jeket. Mak was happy. Kakak and Adik, toksah ceritalah.

Apa-apapun, Ayah, again, Happy Ayah's Day!

Shanghai Beach

I was in Shanghai recently. Teringat pula lagu Shanghai Beach nyanyian Francis-something dulu. So what about Shanghai? Mana ada beachnya? Tak nampakpun? Yang nampak hanyalah skycrapersnya.

(Oh, masa nak landing tadi nampaklah juga pantainya.)

I was actually excited dapat pergi semula ke tanah besar China ni. My first trip ke negara tu was last year, ke Nanning dan Guangzhou. But that was a very short trip. Kali ni lebih lama, about 10 days.

According to Wikipedia, Shanghai is the largest city of the People's Republic of China and the ninth largest in the world. Shanghai mempunyai airport yang canggih walaupun jauh dari town (macam KL-KLIA lah). Imagine negara ni masa zaman pak ngah tu dulu... Dan imagine kalau dia masih hidup, dapatkah Shanghai maju seperti ini hari ini?

Terletak on the banks of Delta Sungai Yangtze di timur China, Shanghai mempunyai pemandangan yang cantik, dan inilah gambar yang Mak Lijah dapat ambil dari bilik hotel yang terletak di tingkat 28 (auuww... tingginya!).

Shanghai adalah paradise untuk bershopping... Aduh.. Koyak paket (pronounced as pah-kate) Mak Lijah macam ni... Mana taknya, barang-barangnya sangat murah berbanding dengan Malaysia dan kualitinya tidak setanding dengan harganya! Murah tapi berkualiti. .Mana nak dapat? Lagipun, barangan branded yang dijual di negara-negara maju di barat kini kebanyakannya dibuat di China. Just name it, Aigner... Calvin Klein... Osh Kosh... dan lain-lain lagi. Alahai...

Of all the places, Mak Lijah telah melepak di S*bucks di river banks pada suatu lewat petang (yang berbaloi). Dengan kedinginan angin sepoi-sepoi bahasa (mujur pakai baju lengan panjang) dan sekali-sekala terpercik titisan gerimis halus (or was it air sungai?), asyik betul menikmati kopi panas kegemaran Mak Lijah. Cantik pemandangannya apabila melihat kapal-kapal yang tipikal keChinaannya belayar menyusur sungai tu. Ohh... macam menonton wayang rasanya...

Tuntutlah ilmu walau ke negeri China sekalipun. Kenapa China menjadi analogi?

(Bersambung - kalau ada masa)

Takjub

Dah siap packing.

Ini dia beg yang dibawa.

Di dalamnya (selain pakaian kerja), ada telekung baru (beli di Jakarta the week before), setokin, gunting, buku panduan umrah dan haji - sangat penting (termasuk senarai doa-doa) dan beberapa lagi item yang berkaitan dengan menunaikan umrah.

Suspense nya...

Bersediakah aku?

Betul ke aku ni yang nak pergi ke Mekah?

Mak Lijah...?

Iye, tak mimpi.. tak mimpi...
..dan akhirnya.. takjubnya Mak Lijah, dah tak terungkap lagi...

Takjub..takjub...

Kerdilnya aku di tanah ini

Layakkah aku berdiri di sini?

Benarkah aku di hadapan mu ini?

Ya Allah... Terimalah penyerahan ku ini



~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~


Akhirnya rezeki dan takdir menentukan Maklijah dapat menjejakkan kaki di bumi Allah ini.
Syukur dapat menjejakkan kaki di sini dalam keadaan masih sihat dan dalam usia ini.

Maklijah sampai di sini lewat Mac yang lalu. Bagai dalam mimpi apabila ditanya, NAMPAK TAK KA'BAH?

Betul ke Maklijah dah sampai di sini? Betul...betul..

Benarkah di depan itu Ka'bah? Benar...benar...

Pastikah telah kucium Hajarul Aswad? Pasti...pasti...

Takjub...Takjub...Takjub...

Ini lah entry yang paling susah bagi Mak Lijah...
Paling rumit buat Mak Lijah nak luahkan dan gambarkan...
Tak kesampaian kata-kata ini...
Tak terucap lidah ini...
Macam pelukis yg ada gadis cantik di depan nya...
Palitan catnya tak mampu merakam keayuan tu..


Wahai Tuhan
Ku tak layak ke syurgamu
Namun tak pula aku sanggup ke nerakamu
Ampunkan dosa-dosa ku
Terimalah taubatku

Saya seekor Merpati

I got this from a friend. Kelakar sangat, especially tang birthday Mak Lijah, which makes me a bird. Takut kena makan dengan meow..... What animal are you?

Tahukah anda bahawa tarikh lahir anda juga boleh disesuaikan dengan kelompok haiwan seperti arnab, tikus, singa, kucing, merpati, penyu, harimau kumbang dan monyet. Ingin mengenali diri anda dengan lebih dekat? Caranya mudah sahaja, kenal pasti bilakah tarikh lahir anda serta lihat kesesuaian haiwan seperti yang telah dikategorikan di bawah! Mmm... pasti anda akan mengenali diri anda dengan lebih mendalam selepas ini!

KUCING
01 - 05 Februari
24 - 31 Mac
25 - 30 Jun
27 - 31 Julai
15 - 27 September
17 - 30 November

Pemalu dan comel, itulah karakter yang mampu dilihat dengan jelas pada individu yang terdiri dari kelompok ini. Adakalanya individu ini lebih gemar mengikut orang lain dan kurang gemar untuk memulakan bicara atau berbual dengan individu yang tidak di kenalinya. Mereka juga terlalu berhati-hati dalam memilih teman. Dari sudut pandangan lain, ternyata individu dari kategori ini sentiasa bersikap baik hati kepada sesiapa sahaja.


TIKUS
10 - 24 Januari
16 - 23 Mac
15 - 26 April
01 - 03 Jun
01 - 09 Julai
16 - 25 Ogos

'Diam-diam ubi berisi' itulah gambaran terdekat mengenai keperibadian mu. Kamu dikenali sebagai cekap dalam melaksanakan sesuatu tugasan yang diberikan. Sikap terlalu pemalu yang ada dalam diri mu itu harus dikurangkan. Selain itu, sikap kamu yang kelakar dan comel sentiasa menarik perhatian individu di sekeliling mu. Walaupun kamu tidak tergolong dalam kelompok kumpulan popular, dirimu tetap dikenali ramai.


ARNAB
01 - 09 Januari
01 - 03 April
15 - 20 Jun
10 - 15 Julai
28 - 30 September
01 - 16 Disember

Individu yang tergolong dalam kategori ini ternyata memiliki penampilan yang menarik dan kebiasaannya popular di kalangan teman-teman. Sikap mu yang mudah bergaul menjadikan kamu antara individu yang mudah didekati dan bijak berkomunikasi dengan sesiapa sahaja tanpa mengira batasan usia mahupun bangsa. Sikap tenang dan bijak yang sememangnya jelas ada pada diri kamu itu juga sering mendapat perhatian ramai dan tidak hairanlah sekiranya kamu sering dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menjadi ketua dalam melaksanakan sesuatu tugasan secara berkumpulan.


SINGA
25 - 31 Januari
13 - 15 Mac
22 - 31 Mei
01 - 16 November

Kamu memang dilahirkan sebagai pemimpin. Indivdiu di sekeliling mu sentiasa berasa selamat bila berdampingan dengan mu. Kamu juga memiliki ramai teman dan berpewatakan menarik. Sikap peramah dan mesra yang sememangnya wujud secara semula jadi dalam diri mu telah menarik ramai orang untuk bersahabat dengan mu, maka tidak hairanlah sekiranya kamu memiliki teman baru saban hari.


MERPATI
06 - 14 Februari
14 - 21 Mei
16 - 26 Julai
01 - 14 September
26 - 31 Disember

Kamu terlalu mudah untuk jatuh cinta. Kamu juga tergolong dalam kategori individu yang sentiasa bersikap tenang. Sememangnya kamu bukannya dari kalangan individu yang terlalu pemalu, namun kamu lebih gemar bersikap menyendiri dalam kehidupan harian mu.


PENYU
15 - 21 Februari
27 - 30 April
04 - 14 Jun
26 - 31 Ogos
16 - 27 Oktober

Sikap lemah lembut dan baik hati memang ada dalam diri kamu. Namun, ada sesetengah pihak agak kurang senang hati dengan sikap mu kerana kamu sering menilai kehendak dan keinginan orang lain hanya berdasarkan persepsi pemikiran diri kamu sendiri. Walau bagaimanapun kamu adalah seorang teman yang dan tidak bersikap seperti 'talam dua muka'.


MONYET
01 - 12 Mac
01 - 13 Mei
21 - 24 Jun
01 - 15 Ogos
01 - 15 Oktober
17 - 25 Disember

Keperibadian individu dari kategori ini sentiasa menarik perhatian ramai. Kamu juga sentiasa memiliki perwatakan yang ceria dan agresif. Sikap ceria itu telah menarik minat ramai orang di sekeliling mu untuk menjalinkan ikatan per sahabatan dengan mu. Tidak hairanlah sekiranya individu dari kategori ini memiliki ramai teman dan sentiasa bijak menyesuaikan diri walau dalam apa jua keadaan sekali pun. Walau bagaimanapun, sikap kamu yang gemar bergosip ada kalanya agak kurang menyenangkan sesetengah pihak. Bagi kamu, itu semua tidak penting! Prinsip hidup kamu, 'hidup mesti ceria!' Selain itu kamu juga gemar menarik perhatian orang di sekeliling dan sentiasa ingin menjadi ketua dalam melaksanakan sesuatu perkara.


HARIMAU KUMBANG
22 - 28 Februari
04 - 14 April
28 - 31 Oktober

Sikap misteri mu agak menggusarkan orang di sekeliling mu. Walau bagaimanapun kamu tetap memiliki ramai teman. Emosi mu yang sering berubah-ubah menjadikan individu di sekeliling mu sentiasa berhati-hati ketika bersama dengan mu. Selain itu, kamu juga sering dikaitkan dengan pelbagai gosip. Berdasarkan keperibadian yang kamu miliki, ternyata kamu sesuai memikul tanggungjawab sebagai seorang ketua.


Post kembali dengan menaip..."Saya seekor ....."

I found this

Masa kat Phoenix near Christmas last year, Mak Lijah terjumpa dengan keter Lincoln ni kat luar lobby hotel. Amazingnya... nombor keter tu SANTAN 5. Apa lagi.. Mak Lijah pun amiklah gambar banyak-banyak. Bukannya selalu boleh jumpa keter SANTAN 5, kat Amerika pulak tu .

I can cook!

Ingat tak dulu ada satu show kat TV - Yam Can Cook? Or... what was it? Dah terlupa, tapi ada nama Yam, lah..Dia ajar memasak, and he made it look so easy. Memang masak ni mudah jer. Ikut kitalah, nak makan yang mudah tapi sedap, or nak masak yang susah tapi sedap juga (or may be not, kalau tak menjadi).

Tapi Mak Lijah nak citer pasal petang ni - I CAN COOK..! Bukannya Mak Lijah cannot cook, tapi just couldn't cook. Dah berapa lama Mak Lijah tak pegang kuali. Dah berapa lama Mak Lijah tak menumis, menumbuk, memotong etc.

I've been travelling a lot lately... A LOT. Jarang sekali Mak Lijah ada a complete weekend of both Saturday and Sunday together. Kalau tak fly on weekdays, at least Saturday or Sunday mesti dah burnt atas kapalterbang. So finally, minggu ni Mak Lijah dapat a good set of weekend. Memang Mak Lijah teringin nak memasak, tapi rasa macam nak spend the time first dengan anak-anak and Pak Lijah.

Bermula pagi Saturday (kebetulan Putihah pulak nak take weekend off), Mak Lijah, Pak Lijah, kakak and Danisy pergi ke Bangsar, cari kedai N*kia. Nak beli handphone baru. Punyalah lama tak ke situ, rupanya dah naik Bangsar Village. Perak sungguh Mak Lijah. Dulu ada Hankyu Jaya (terasa kuno sangat) dan that big Chinese Restaurant. Sekarang dah tak ada. Dah naik this Bangsar Village yang besar and so cool. So we bought some groceries kat supermarket dia, selepas beli hp dan selepas Danisy and kakak tengok rabbit. OK lah, not bad... Terjumpa dengan boss lama Mak Lijah di situ yang dah bersara tahun lepas. Bila Danisy komplen lapar, we ate at Madam Kwan. Pehtu, pergi ke Ampang, amik cincin yang Mak Lijah repair kat situ. Balik rumah semua terkelepek letih... Malam we all pi makan kat Johny's Restaurant yang ada steambot tu. Abang pun decided to ikut sebab tak mahu kelaparan sorang-sorang kat rumah.

Hari ni, we all pi KLCC, tengok wayang and had lunch kat situ. Dah lewat petang, perut rasa lapar and rasa nak memasak tu bagai meronta-ronta. So Mak Lijah checked the fridge and checked with Pak Lijah on what he wanted to have for dinner. A few days ago dia ada tanya if we still had ikan patin, so Mak Lijah ingat nak masak tempoyak ikan patin lah. Tapi akhirnya, for the next one hour we had ikan patin masak lemak cili padi, ikan patin goreng bersambal, sayur buncis and daging goreng especially for Danisy. Sebenarnya nak goreng jugak ikan puyu pekasam, tapi tak sempat sebab Pak Lijah dah duduk kat meja and everybody dah sangat lapar.

Hey... I can cook, lah! Lama tak memasak, puas hati rasanya, walaupun tak banyak jenis lauk. Puas hatilah dapat memotong ikan patin, mengupas bawang, menumbuk cili padi, menumis cili...etc. Kelakar pun ada, rasanya... Esok Mak Lijah cuti. Rasa macam nak pergi pasar Selayang tu. Dah berbulan-bulan tak pergi. Nak masak apa, ek, esok?

Saja suka-suka! -AN UPDATE

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Pergi Mekah menunaikan haji tiap-tiap tahun, bawa seluruh anggota keluarga termasuk ibu mertua dan ipar duai, dan bagi duit poket 2,000 pound sterling sorang.
2. Melancong tempat-tempat pilihan.
3. Beli rumah sederhana besar, 7 bilik tidor, ada swimming pool dan kawasan rumah yang luas. senang nak wat kenduri, tak yah kacau jalanraya nak wat khemah.
4. Derma - RM5,000 tiap-tiap bulan kepada : (i) rumah anak-anak yatim; (ii) rumah orang-orang tua; derma kepada mana-mana organisation yang wat research tentang penyakit2 kronik yang masih tak ada obatnya
5. Buka beberapa bisnes besar-besaran, bagi adik-beradik uruskan dan Mak Lijah dapat elaun taukeh jer tiap-tiap bulan.


5 bad habits:
1. Persistent
2. Tak suka senyum tak tentu pasal dan (macam CD) org yg tak kenal, kalau first time jumpa, mesti cakap Mak Lijah sombong.
3. Susah nak mesra dengan orang yang baru Mak Lijah kenal.
4. Moody (not a morning person).
5. Kadang-kadang strict yang melampau (especially on work).


5 things I hate doing:
1. Whatever that is related to pakaian (membasuh, menyidai, memungut, melipat, menggosok dsb), kecuali memakai sahaja.
2. Disuruh buat sesuatu masa baru nak start makan.
3. Menunggu kerja orang lain siap supaya kerja kita siap.
4. Turning down permintaan orang yang datang jumpa kita untuk minta tolong (tak sampai hati nak bagitau "tak boleh")
5. Waiting...waiting...waiting....


5 things I'll never do:
1. curang
2. berhutang dengan along
3. bunuh diri (macam CD)
4. potong que (kat tol, cashier shopping complex, ATM, toilet) (macam CD)
5. makan benda haram


5 things I regret doing:
1. tak serius study masa nak SPM, STPM and USM dulu.
2. kecewakan mak dan ayah suatu ketika dulu
3. didn't enjoy habis-habisan masa teenager dulu (mak n ayah = very strict)
4. not accepting offer to go oversea untuk study dulu
5. tak jaga gigi yang sangat sensitip ni betul-betul


5 fave toys or things:
1. HP
2. Notebook Dell ni.
3. My black car - hadiah dari Pak Lijah
4. Remote control Astro
5. earings


Nak tambah - 5 most hated things:
1. Having to repeat over and over again over the same thing
2. Having to listen the same thing over and over again
3. Orang potong que - MEMANG SANGAT PANTANG
4. Road bullies
5. Beli something yang mahal, tapi tak nak guna or benda tu mendatangkan masalah pulak.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABANG!

Hari ni umur Abang dah 14 tahun. Dah besar panjang anak teruna Mak Lijah ni. Mak Lijah hadiahkan dia sebuah basikal yang looks really cool. Regenya tak lah cool... Hot juga purse Mak Lijah. Tak taulah dia suka ke tidak. I know he wanted a new handphone, tapi Mak Lijah tak nak hadiahkan hp sebab bukannya dia nak guna untuk telefon Mak Lijah ke sesiapa, more of as a toy. Nak download lagulah, nak main gamelah, hantar mms lah.. dan macam-macam lagi yang bukan fungsi hp yang sebenar. So Mak Lijah hadiahkan basikal yang boleh dia gunakan untuk pergi rumah kawan-kawan dia atau untuk main bola dan ke mana-mana saja yang dia suka kecuali pergi melepak tak tentu pasal... and I know that basikal is his second dalam wish list dia.

Mak Lijah pon dah tak nak beli accessory sukan kat dia. Beli sekejap punah segala. Guna bagai nak rak. Bukannya murah. Sarung tangan bola regenya RM99 satu. Beli 2 bulan sekali. Dah ler sekarang ni tengah gila sukan. Hari-hari balik lambat sebab ada game rugby. Tahun ni sekolah dia dapat tempat ke tiga. Bangganya bukan kemain lagi. Tak apalah, dua-tiga minggu ni asyik balik lambat saja, asalkan dia puas hati dapat wakil sekolah. Lepas ni sibuk dengan water polo pulak. Adehhh...

Apa-apapun Abang... Selamat ulangtahun. Semoga Abang cemerlang dalam segala aktiviti sukan dan pelajaran, ya?

The View 1

Yes, this is me, Mak Lijah, berdiri dalam kesejukan salji dan keindahan Davos.
Alahai... bagai bermimpi rasanya. Perak, kan?

The View 2

Mak Lijah - On the balcony of the hotel we were staying, Parsenn, in little Davos.

The View 3

This is another one small portion of little Davos. View from Sheraton.

The Snow

PLEASE ENDURE WITH ME. THIS BREATHTAKING MOMENT OF MY LIFE MAY BE OF IMMATERIAL TO SOME OF YOU. TAPI BAGI MAK LIJAH YANG BERASAL DARI KAMPUNG SANTAN, PERLIS, THAT PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE WAS ONE HELL OF A PRECIOUS PIECE OF MY BEING ALIVE

Aku Yang Perak

Akhirnya Mak Lijah dapat juga menyentuh salji. Dapat berjalan semasa salji turun dengan lebatnya. Hmm… Betul ke semua ni? Betul lah tu. Ada gambar ni pun. Masa mula-mula diberitahu Mak Lijah akan ke Davos, pertama sekali yang terkeluar dari mulut Mak Lijah ialah “At last...snow!” (by now, some of you may have guessed what I do for a living).

Touch down saja kat airport Zurich, Mak Lijah nampak putih jer kat landasan. Salji kah tu? Keluar saja dari perut kapalterbang, bernafas pun dah keluar asap. Apatah lagi bercakap. Oh..!! Perak nye aku! Salji dahpun turun the day before. Yang tinggal adalah landasan ais.

The Journey

As we were driving to Davos, Mak Lijah refused to kelipkan mata sebab tak nak miss a single second to cherish the beautiful, scenic view (of my dream) of snow covered mountains, trees, houses etc. Mak Lijah describekan kat Kakak my experience tu seperti berada dalam movie Narnia.

By the time we reached Davos, salji mula turun. Mak Lijah tadahkan tangan yang bersarung bagi merasa kehalusan salji. Aduh.. bestnya... Rasa kelakarpun ada sebab ketawakan diri sendiri yang begitu teruja dengan “kejayaan” untuk menyentuh salji akhirnya selepas bertahun-tahun memendam rasa. Banyak ler gambar dirakamkan for the memorable event in my entire life.

The next day, salji mula turun seawal pukul 5 pagi lagi. Berjalan ke tempat mesyuarat pun semasa salji sedang turun dengan lebatnya. Dan pemandangan teramat indah sekali. Betul ke aku berada di sini? Betul ke semua ini sedang berlaku ke atas diri aku?

AKIBATNYA...! Mak Lijah demam the next day.


The Preparations

I thought I did quite a preparation juga demi melindungi diri dari kedinginan salji pada suhu 10 darjah bawah paras beku (minus 10). Mak Lijah dah pakai thermal (beli kat One Utama) untuk suhu 0 darjah ke bawah, black long coat yang tebal (Calvin Klein, beli kat LA), bersarung tangan (beli kat Tie Rack, KLIA – aduh mahalnya!) dan berkasut but (beli di Hong Kong). Ramai yang telah menghulurkan nasihat, termasuk Abang Mak Lijah, apabila dapat tahu Mak Lijah akan ke Davos and that it would be my first encounter with the snow.

Tapi ternyata orang yang perak seperti Mak Lijah masih lemah untuk mengharung suhu di bawah paras beku. Maka merangkul sajalah di atas katil di bawah duvet yang tebal dalam bilik hotel di 101, Knightsbridge (by then, we had flown out to London) dan tidurlah Mak Lijah dibuai mimpi bermain salji lagi...

Alahai.. aku and The Snow.

What a Year!

A year full of surprises. Some pleasant, some sad ones.

A year full of changes. My prayers were answered.

A year full of activities. Enjoyed every single bit of it.

A year full of travelling. More is yet to come.

*Semoga tahun depan menawarkan ketenangan, kebahagiaan dan keberkatan.
**Semoga ketabahan menjadi perisai dan penawar dalam mengharung tugas-tugas rasmi dan tugas-tugas wajib.
***Selamat maju jaya kepada diriku dan kepada semua manusia di muka bumi ini.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL ADHA KEPADA SEMUA!

Do You Have The Heart To Hurt This Child?

Sungguh menyakitkan hati dan sedih membaca about the trial of a stepmother who murdered a boy, Syakir, in Ampang Jaya. When I first read kisah ni semalam, Mak Lijah terus telefon Danish to tell him that I love him - an instantaneous act of a mother.

To add to this was the story about the Pakistan man who poured the gasoline on to his stepchild. What kind of human is that?

How could anyone have the heart to hurt a small child? Ni sampai bunuh anak kecil yang tak berdosa dan tak berdaya melawan tu. Perangai apa namanya tu? Binatang pun tak bunuh anak. Sakit sungguh hati ni.

Ramai isteri-isteri yang sedang berusaha untuk mendapatkan anak, dan manusia macam ini tergamak membunuh anak kecil itu. Apa lagi yang dapat dikatakan mengenai manusia berhati syaitan seperti itu?

Manusia Berhati Syaitan

MANUSIA APA NAMANYA NI? PATUT DICURAHKAN PETROL JUGA KAT LELAKI TAK GUNA NI DAN DIBUAT UNGGUN SAJA.


‘Anak menggelupur dijilat api’

KOTA BHARU 13 Nov. – Seorang isteri tidak menyangka lelaki warga Pakistan yang menjadi suaminya tiga bulan lalu sanggup membakar ibu mertua dan anak tirinya dengan petrol di rumah mereka di Kampung Bukit Payung, Pasir Akar, Jerteh, pagi semalam, hanya kerana perselisihan kecil.
Che Rohani Deraman, 28, berkata, dia cuba membantu tetapi terlambat kerana ketika itu mangsa, Siti Hajar Abdullah, 64, bersama cucunya, Nurul Isyirah Mohd. Halmi, 3, dan jiran, Banu Dagang, 67, sudah menggelupur kesakitan setelah api menyambar pakaian mereka.
Berikutan itu, Nurul Isyirah yang melecur hampir seluruh badan dimasukkan ke Unit Rawatan Rapi (ICU) Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) Kubang Kerian dan keadaannya dilaporkan stabil manakala Siti Hajar yang terbakar hampir 30 peratus dirawat di Wad 4 HUSM.
Jiran mereka, Banu yang hanya melecur di bahagian belakang badan dan kaki, diberi rawatan sebagai pesakit luar.
Che Rohani yang ditemui di HUSM hari ini berkata, perkahwinan kali kedua tiga bulan lalu yang dianggap boleh membawa lebih kebahagiaan bagi keluarganya, akhirnya menimbulkan musibah dan dia serik untuk meneruskan perkahwinan tersebut.
Sebelum kejadian, Che Rohani, ibu kepada seorang anak itu menceritakan dia berselisih faham dengan suaminya kerana melengah-lengahkan urusan untuk memperbaharui pasport dan dia (Che Rohani) keberatan untuk menemaninya ke Pejabat Imigresen.
‘‘Ekoran itu, dia merungut lalu bergegas keluar dari rumah sebelum balik semula dengan membawa bersama petrol yang diisi dalam kampit plastik.
‘‘Ketika itu, ibu saya (Siti Hajar) bersama jiran yang ternampak suami saya, menegurnya kerana membawa petrol ke dalam rumah lalu terjadi pertengkaran,” ujarnya.
Dalam pertengkaran kira-kira pukul 9 pagi, anaknya yang ketika itu berada di dapur berlari keluar untuk melihat nenek dan bapa tiri bergaduh, sebelum suspek yang menjalankan perniagaan permaidani dari rumah ke rumah mencurah bahan api lalu menyalakannya.
‘‘Sebaik saja Nurul Isyirah berada bersama neneknya, tiba-tiba api terus menyambar dan membakar ketiga-tiga mereka.

Citarasa

Hari ni masuk hari ke 18 kita berpuasa. Mak Lijah betul-betul mati kutu. Tak tau nak buat lagu mana dah. Anak-anak Mak Lijah ni, bukan setakat ada taste masing-masing yang sangat-sangat berbeza, ditambah pula dengan hangin hari-hari tertentu bab pilihan lauk berbuka puasa. Tak taulah angin monsun ka... angin xanane ke.. apakebendenya... Letih betul nak cari idea ni. Macam-macam dah Mak Lijah masak. Ayam masak merah, sup tulang, ikan taucu, ikan kukus, ketam, udang, you name it lah... Kalau hari baik, memang licin lah apa saja yang Mak Lijah masak. Kalau mari hangin tu...

Semalam sebelum sampai rumah, Mak Lijah singgah sekejap kat a small bazaar Ramadhan untuk beli air kelapa for Kakak. Sambil tu, TERbeli juga dua ketul ayam goreng berempah dengan 3 biji pegedil.

Bila sampai rumah, Mak Lijah pun masak lemak cili padi ikan patin, kerang, sayur buncis dll. yang Mak Lijah kira okaylah dengan citarasa budak-budak tu yang suka masak lemak apapun. At the same time Putiha pula bagitau kata ada 2 biji telur retak masa dia alihkan dari bekas ke dalam fridge. Mak Lijah pun suruhlah dia goreng dadar je telur tu daripada busuk dok dalam fridge dalam keadaan tak sempurna dan contaminated.

Tiba jer masa berbuka, both Abang and Kakak tenung je hidangan atas meja tu. What? Anything wrong?

Abang hanya makan telur dadar (sahaja), Kakak only took the ayam goreng yang Mak Lijah beli tadi, while Danisy happily eating all-he-can sayur buncis dan kerang. Adehh.... Hari ni nak masak apa pulak?

We started from the hotel at 7.00 am on a cool, windy and drizzly morning. We were all excited of the trip out of Auckland sebab baru ada peluang nak melihat the landscape of New Zealand. I was especially excited and keep on reminding the driver to make sure the trip would include the visit to a farm.

We stopped by here to stretch ourselves after about 1.5 hours of drive out of Auckland on our way to Rotorua. Mind you.. kat Cambridge ni... Such a beautiful small town. Minum capuccino dalam sebuah cafe yang cantik, located in a building used to be a small church.

Cantik betul bangunan ni dan landscape di kawasan sekitarnya. Kalau tak silap, ni pejabat majlis perbandaran diorang.

This one... was a dream come true. Sejak tingkatan 1 lagi dah dream nak pergi farm to feed the lamb.

Yang ni kat Mt. Eden. The green grass tu adalah bekas kawah gunung berapi.

Kakak and Danisy makan eskrim kat Dressmart. Eskrim? Issh.. budak-budak ni... Sejuk kemain kat luar pun boleh makan eskrim lagi.

Too many sad news. Cannot cope.
Maybe I should go back to those happy moments we went through while we were in NZ.

Kat sini we saw the biggest geyser (pronounced as gee-sir) named after some Prince and Princess. Apart from this place, there were many, many other geysers all over Rotorua. Some even within the court-yards of the residents. It was a very interesting geographycal visit.

Us, after watching the Maoris buat persembahan. The driver who took us to Rotorua told us that a research by an academician found out that the Maori ancestors actually came from Taiwan.

At a beautiful lake, me and princess.

Today was a sad day. I was supposed to be spending the day in pleasure which include cooking a complete meal for the breaking of fast. But the sad news came at about 11.00 am today and the whole family mourned the loss.

Someone we knew, who came into our lives some nine years ago, passed away at 6.20 am today, the fourth day of Ramadhan. She has been in coma for almost three months after an accident which should not have happened, and today, her sufferings ended. I never thought that she would leave us so soon or in fact leave us at all. But she has lost her fighting will although she was already showing some improvements. She lost the battle to lack of moral support and encouragement to live.

When she's around, we didn't really notice her because she was like part of our family, part of our lives. Now that she's really gone that we felt the missing portion of our routine. She won't be there anymore to help us whenever I wanted to organise a gathering. And this Ramadhan would be different without her helping us baking the cookies for Hari Raya. Putihah missed her dearly. So does my neighbour.

Semoga dosa-dosa beliau diampun dan semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya. Al Fatihah.

Congratulations

con·grat·u·la·tion (kn-grch-lshn, -grj-, kng-):

The act of expressing joy or acknowledgment, as for the achievement or good fortune of another.


It was on a late Tuesday morning when I got this shocking proposition. And this has to happen in Bangkok. Honestly, it was shocking coming from THE someone and for THAT purpose. I repeat, it was the "shockingest" moment of my entire life.


And later I started receiving this wishes from a few people. Really, does it worth being wished CONGRATULATIONS? I don't know. I don't know what I felt or what to feel. Do I deserve being congratulated? I keep on asking myself and back to the people who wished me so.

 

 

Being A Wedding Planner

My younger, only sister and the youngest in the family, Teh, selamat diakad nikahkan on 4 June 2006 nan lalu. At last she met her hero, selepas beberapa calon lain tidak memenuhi kriteria pilihan dia lantas direject. Mak Lijah tak kisah siapa pilihan dia, dah jodoh, walaupun satu kriteria tu, hilang markahnya. Tak apalah. Semoga berbahagia ke anak cucu, ya?

Yang Mak Lijah nak citer ni, perihal menjadi wedding planner for her akad nikah. Planning in KL when the event is in Perlis is one kind of a challenge. Kesian Ayah and Mak had to do all the reservations and arrangements all by themselves. But it's even harder for me, because I had to do all the thinking, organising things, buying all the stuff, choosing the theme, menggubah hantaran and many, many, many other things in KL while the rest just implement them. Wah... power juga Mak Lijah ni...

Anyway, bukannya Mak Lijah komplen. Sebenarnya, Mak Lijah simply luvvvv.... doing all these. I had 'planned' for two weddings before yang berlangsung di rumah Mak Lijah -- 'mengahwinkan' adik ipar dan anak saudara, for two consecutive years. However, Teh's akad nikah was especially special. Ya lah, dah ler adik sendiri, sepusat sepusing, she's my only sister, and I'm her only sister too. She relies entirely on me. And also, because she's the last of the four of us to get married.

So the preparations for her was especially sentimental to me. I want to make sure her akad nikah is well planned, smooth going, that someone is organising and in charge from A to Z, not like mine. So yang jadi mangsa of course lah Ayah, Mak and the rest of the family.

"Ayah, make sure the khemah are ALL WHITE, no stripes. We don't want to represent any political party. And please book NOW coz masa tu sure ramai nak buat kenduri kawen juga. "

"Mak, NO COOKING. ONLY CATERING. I don't want you to worry about having to buy all the bawangs, halia, ayam, cili etc. I don't want you to be thinking about the menu, who to berangkit, and more importantly, so that you and all of us will not be tired of washing the dishes etc after everything is over."

"Abang, nanti please remove all the big furnitures kat depan tu, to the back sebab nak letak pelamin. Please make sure all our sedara mara tak park keta (kereta) within our compound nanti. Let the groom's delegation park within the compound. Ask our sedara mara to park kat rumah Ngah or just walk here. "

"Daddy, I have to break this news to you. You are hereby officially appointed as the spokesperson."

"Teh, nanti belah lelaki nak dok mana?"

I have to think about all those things and I enjoyed doing all of them, every moment... all for my only sister. And these tak habis kat situ coz, the real kenduri will be in November. And the script will be re-written.

Good luck to me!

Frying Friday

Hari ni Mak Lijah "melawat kawasan", kerana hari ini hari Jumaat. "Kawasan Parlimen" YB Mak Lijah ialah di Jalan TAR dan yang sewaktu dengannya. Hari Jumaat ini agak istimewa dan 'panas' kerana dua peristiwa menarik telah berlaku kepada Mak Lijah.

Hari Jumaat kali ini Mak Lijah ambil kesempatan untuk membeli kain lagi untuk Mak Lijah dan mak Mak Lijah. So berjalanlah kami, rombongan Cek Kiah dari Pertama Complex ke arah deretan kedai sutera yang femes tu.

Kami melintasi depa Sogo dan cuba untuk melintas di zebra crossing dekat kedai Da Vinci. Then this stupid taxi driver, number plate nya, HP 6876 simply refused to at least slow down to let us cross, dan nyaris melanggar kawan Mak Lijah ni. Chiss... kurang ajar..! Kawan Mak Lijah ni pun apa lagi, menyumpah-seranahlah dia. Then that stupid taxi driver slowed down his car and got the guts to marah her back! Siap cakap nak langgar dia sampai mati..! Gosh... Orang macam ni boleh hidup lagi kat dunia ni? Yang peliknya, tadi langsung tak nak berenti, tapi bila orang marah, siap boleh slow down to scold my friend ni back.. C*la*a!!!! Tak cukup dengan tu... terus-menerus memaki-hamun dan threatened kawan Mak Lijah ni. But we just walked away sebab felt so disgusted and frusted with this kind of Malaysian. Buat malu rakyat Mesia jer.

Dah selesai shopping kat kedai kain femes ni (Mak Lijah bought a piece for myself and two pieces for Mak), we all pon berjalanlah balik ke arah Medan Mara. On the way tu, singgah kat this ATM machine. Punyalah panjang queue, tapi disebabkan desperate sangat nak $$, queue jugalah, dah ler mesin sebelah tu rosak. Tunggu punya tunggu dekat 15 menet, datang sorang Kakak ni, mencuba ATM sebelah yang rosak tu. Cuba punya cuba, baru dia sedar yang mesin tu rosak. Kebetulan Mamat yang tengah berurusan di mesin yang tengah kami queue tu pun selesai mengambil duitnya. Dengan selambanya Kakak tu beralih ke mesin tu dan dengan selambanya memasukkan kad ATM dia tanpa mempedulikan kami yang beratur sebegitu lama. Pada masa tu, kat belakang Mak Lijah, ada dekat 10 orang dok beratur. Aduh.... kecewanya....Pun begitu Mak Lijah hanya mampu mengeluh sajalah...

Tapi Mamat yang beratur di belakang Mak Lijah sudah bengang... Dengan selambanya dia pon sound..

"Kak..Oh Kak... Cepatlah sikit... Lama kami tunggu ni..."

Kakak tu buat-buat tak dengar jer...

"Kak...Kak..? Kak.. Oh...Kak... Cepatlah... Akak ni dah potong queue ni.."

Buat derk lagi... And that Mamat kept on berleter sebab dah lama menunggu and sebab the Kakak was being so slow etc. Dan akhirnya Kakak tu pun berpaling ke arah Mamat tu.

"Oh, ye ke?"..dan berlalu begitu saja.

What an interesting Friday...

I want to go there

It's in Saleve, near Geneva. Arve River. Beautiful isn't it? Bilalah...agaknya. Berangan tinggi..

 

Happy Birthday to Me

No. This is not my birthday cake. Ini kek hantaran Teh to her husband on 4 June 2006 nan lalu. Sebab tak ada gambar birthday cake, guna sajalah yang ni. Berapa umur Mak Lijah? Perhaps a bit younger than Mak Andeh but we must have lived in the same period of history. About the same age as Ayah; Pnut and a bit older than Cyberdad. I must emphasize on the ABOUT and A BIT sebab jaraknya tidaklah begitu jauh.

So what about this birthday of mine this year? Nothing significant. Last year I "celebrated" my birthday in Vientienne with some of my friends in a beautiful bungalow once stayed by Malaysian Prime Minister. And this year? Nothing special. Just another additional number to my age. Dapat juga hadiah dari Pak Lijah pagi tadi. Cantik sangat. Thanks Pak Lijah (if you're reading this. Fat chance is - he doesn't read Blogs)!

That's all folks... 

Bastion Point, Auckland

Pemandangan dari atas ni memang cantik. Lansdcapenya remarkably beautiful. Again, macam mimpi. 

The Undiscovered Part of Me

Mak Lijah rupanya seorang yang gayat. Itu ler...Ketawakan lagi orang!

Mak Lijah pernah mengetawakan seorang kawan Mak Lijah (bekas blogger yang beralih arah ke suatu aliran lain yang juga baru dia discover) apabila dia memberitahu yang dia gayat bila dia cuba mengambil gambar dari bumbung pejabat dia dulu. Baru kini Mak Lijah betul-betul tahu apa ertinya gayat. And it took a holiday to New Zealand to discover that thing about myself.

Mak Lijah memang awal-awal lagi berminat nak melawat Skytower di Auckland tu. So as part of the Explorer package, we came down from the tour bus to 'test' the Skytower. Masa baru sampai tu, ada sekelompok manusia sedang memandang ke atas, so we assumed that something interesting was about to happen. Sambil mengambil a few shots, we waited for 'the thing' to happen. Rupa-rupanya ada orang buat skyjump, something like bungy jumping, cuma dia tak bounce back and the person will land on a platform at the foot of the tower.

After seeing that action, we went inside the tower and bought tickets to go up there. So efficient. Semuanya diorang bantu. Without anticipating anything, we went into the lift and the people who worked at the tower there pushed the button for us. And so the lift moved and I told the children that the journey up is similar to the one in KL Tower masa belanja Pak Lijah dinner on Father's Day the year before.

Tiba-tiba...whossshhh... bright light....whossshhh... bumbung bangunan...cloud...perahu layar...the sea...and suddenly I felt that we were moving very fast. But my heart was beating even faster...And whosssh... gelap balik... WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT???? WHAT...??? The tower actually had 'holes' for us to see outside while we go up the lift?????

...and then, it started to get brighter again..but this time I kinda prepared myself, so I turned around, screaming in silent and menyumpah-nyumpah dekat sebakul kerana decided to go up the Skytower.

About two minutes later, we all pun sampai di atas... Legaaa....

Mujurlah pemandangan yang cantik di atas tu cepat-cepat memulihkan semangat Mak Lijah. Fuuhhh.... However, Mak Lijah stayed far, far away from the glass windows sebab tak sanggup nak tengok. Sambil berjalan-jalan dengan Kakak, tiba-tiba dia kata, "Mama... cuba tengok lantai yang Mama pijak." Innocently, Mak Lijahpun tengokler ke lantai tempat Mak Lijah pijak tu. APA TU...? Tiny dots...and they are moving WHAT THE... OH MY GOD...!!! Glass floor... and the floor was moving as my knees started to move along. Kenapa lembik lutut nih... I need to sit...! I need to sit...!!!

Alahai.... Gayat rupanya aku nih...

After awhile, we decided that it's time to go back. Dah puas and gayat yang melampau telah meletihkan Mak Lijah. So we waited for the lift and went it came, we got in and Mak Lijah awal-awal lagi pusing ke belakang dan to confirm yang Mak Lijah tak akan dapat memandang ke luar lagi macam tadi, Mak Lijah terus pandang ke lantai saja. Ada beberapa orang Jepun bersama kami dalam lif tersebut dan mereka seakan mengerti situasi Mak Lijah. Bila lif mula bergerak, Mak Lijah mula menghitung saat untuk sampai ke bawah.

Tiba-tiba... that bright light again... Oh no...!!! Glass floor...!!! S**T...!!! ...and whoosshhh.... cables...huge cables...they move up as we go down...really fast...and there's a black dot down there...the hole we were moving down into... and my heart was leaping out...This is not good... NOT GOOD AT ALL... and Mak Lijah dah sampai tahap dewa dah nak control macho... Huwaaaa....!!! The Japs were laughing at me... not to exclude my children and Pak Lijah... Huwaaa......!!!!

That's it...! Enough...!! No more towers...No more towers 'with holes'.
So that was the undiscovered part of me.
Gayat rupanya aku nih...

Auckland's Skytower

This was where I discovered something about myself which was unknowingly hidden over the years. Hmm...
See the little black dot to the left of the building? Itu adalah sejenis manusia yang sedang mengkaji aliran adrenalinnya.
 

Masa baru sampai di kaki Skytower

Apa-apapun, amik bahan bukti dulu, bahawa dah sampai ke Skytower.
 

Jom Adik...!

Masa ni tak tau betul-betul lagi macamana rasanya naik lif ke atas...Cuma excited jer nak compare Skytower dengan KL Tower. 

Dalam Skytower

Nice view from up here. Nampak betapa banyaknya perahu layar dari atas ni. That's why Auckland is named 'City of Sails'. 

Baa..baa.. white sheep

 

Tiga Bradik di Rotoroa

Di sini, budak-budak ni asyik komplen bau busuk. Mana taknya, geyser merata-rata. 

New Zealand...here we are..!!

First stop in Auckland : Mt. Eden 

New Zealand..here we come..

Baru lima belas minit kapalterbang take-off, "Mama, dah nak sampai ke?"
While Danish enjoyed making funny faces sambil sebuk tanya, "...bila nak sampai ni..", Kakak and Abang were all excited to have personalised screen right in front of them with all their favorites waiting for them. 

Kia Ora

At last, Mak Lijah and family menjejakkan kaki jua di bumi Kiwi ini. Setelah lebih dua dekad memendam angan-angan, maka akhirnya, pada 28 Mei 2006, tibalah Mak Lijah sekeluarga di Auckland, New Zealand.

Betul-betul macam mimpi. Banyak kali juga suruh Pak Lijah cubit Mak Lijah, kut-kut tengah mengigau. Rugilah pulak kalau memang betul tengah mimpi. Tapi pengalaman membawa anak-anak Mak Lijah menaiki pesawat untuk perjalanan selama 10 jam lebih mengerikan. Pun begitu, syukur mereka tak meragam, cuma excitednya semacam jer.

Gerimis di airport Auckland baru sahaja reda sebaik kami mendarat kira-kira pukul 10.45 pagi. Kami disapa oleh angin sejuk New Zealand pada suhu 16 darjah selsius. Budak-budak boleh tahan lagi. Relak jer diorang, macam sejuk tu biasa jer sedangkan Mak Lijah dah mula menggigil semasa mengambil gambar mereka.

Kami dibawa melawat ke Mt. Eden, sebuah bekas gunung berapi yang telah lama mati. Seperti yang diduga, pemandangannya memang indah sekali. New Zealand is rich in a variety of awesome landscapes. Seperti yang kita belajar dalam Ilmu Alam dulu, NZ has spectacular glaciers, picturesque fiords, vast plains, subtropical forest, volcanic plateau, miles of coastline with gorgeous sandy beaches - all left me speechless and breathless...

Nanti sambung lagi...

The Piano

I was lazing around, as usual, on this wonderful Sunday afternoon when I heard this plucking of piano coming from the TV. Not that it was such a beautiful rendition, it was the fact that the pianist was playing it while lying on the floor! Yes. I mean, he was lying under the piano, facing the keys above him, both arms reaching above and actually playing a complete piece! Imagine that? Just for Variety. A very funny show, that was.

What actually triggered me was my fond memories of my music lessons way back during my school days. I wanted so much to learn music, then, and it was my choosing of between the piano and the electronic keyboard (organ). I end up choosing the organ, although I prefer the sound of the piano more.

By the time I started to learn music formally, I'd already knew how to read the notes. So it was just a matter of choosing what songs to play, correctly and systematically. If I chose to learn the piano, I would have to learn the classical songs first. That was the way the syllabus was arranged back then. I didn't like that idea. I don't really enjoy classical songs, whoever the composers are.

On the other hand, learning the organ is to immediately learn modern pop songs. That's more like it. That's what I want!

Therefore, the organ was my fastest means to achieve my ultimate goal to be able to play music I like. So I learned to play the organ. Went through some exams of which I had to play songs of my choice (I especially remember The Masquare and When Will I See You Again) with my own creative arrangement and succesfully finished up to the sixth grade. The rest was history. I could play some of my favourite songs, provided I have the notes in front of me.

But that was some 20 years ago. The JVC organ is still in Ayah and Mak's home back in Perlis. Our children will endulge themselves with the instrument and God knows what songs they play. Whenever I go back during Hari Raya, I would always play Seloka Aidil Fitri (or something like that - forgot the title)...and play the song without the notes in front of me. Maybe I should try out some of Mawi's songs...He...he..he..

How to answer

A friend sent me the following (thanks Loyot) and I would like to share this with you. A bit long though, nevertheless, it's worth reading. Iqraq:

John (J): Dr Danial (DD), I always wonder why prophet Muhammad taught Muslims to become terrorists. He should teach people to be kind and tolerant.

DD: Actually John, your concept about Islam and Muhammad is wrong. Completely wrong. Prophet Muhammad never taught his followers to be terrorists. On the contrary, it was the Muslims who were being terrorised by the non Muslims in the era of prophet Muhammad. For 13 years in Mecca, after being prophet of Islam, Muhammad and the Muslims were harassed and tortured by the Quraisyites. The companions of the prophet, for example, Yasser and Sumayyyah, were killed. The others, for example, Bilal and Ammar, were tortured. And yet the Muslims at that time were asked to be patient and persevere. They were not allowed to fight and raise arms against the non Muslims. Once prophet Muhammad went to Taif to preach about Islam. He got a cold reception from the people there. There cursed him and as if it was not enough, they threw stones and filth towards him. When the Archangel Jibril came to him to get his permission to demolish the people of Taif, prophet Muhammad said, "Leave them alone. Yes, today the people ignored my message. But I pray that their progeny will be a different group of people. I pray that they will accept Islam." Are these acts and words of terrorism John?

John: But there are verses in the Quran that promote terrorism. These verses instigate the Muslims to kill the non Muslims all over the world. If I am not mistaken, the meaning of one of the verses is, "And kill the non Muslims whereever they are."

DD: Oh, you are quoting the verses from the Quran. If that's the case, you should allow me to quote a few verses from your Bible and Talmud. In Numbers 31:17-18, it was stated, "Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves." And in Luke 19:26-27, "I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence." How about one more verse from Matthew 10:34-35, "Do not think that I have come to send peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword. I am sent to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." To me these verses are very dangerous. They can instigate people especially the christians to do acts of terrorism!

And please allow me also to quote from the holy book of the Jews, that is the Talmud. I suppose you know that the Talmud is Judaism's holiest book. Its authority takes precedence over the Old Testament in Judaism. It is stated in Sanhedrin 58b, "If a heathen (i.e. non-Jew) hits a Jew, the gentile must be killed." And In Sanhedrin 57a, "When a Jew murders a gentile ('Cuthean'), there will be no death penalty. What a Jew steals from a gentile he may keep." And John, have you read a book written by A. Hoffman II and Alan R. Critchley titled Judaism's Strange God?

John: Err, no.

DD: Never mind. A. Hoffman II and Alan R. Critchley recently did a thorough research on the contents of the Talmud and what they found surprised them. In their book, Judaism's Strange God, they said, 'On the surface, it seems that genocide is advocated by the Talmud. In the Minor Tractates, Soferim 15, Rule 10, there is a saying by Rabbi Simon ben Yohai, 'Tob shebe goyyim harog,' which means, 'even the best of the gentiles (i.e. non-Jews) should all be killed.' This passage is taken from the original Hebrew of the Babylonian Talmud as quoted by the 1907 Jewish Encyclopaedia. Israelis annually take part in a national pilgrimage to the grave of Simon ben Yohai, to honour this rabbi who advocated the extermination of non-Jews.' John, you will agree with me that these verses look very, very violent indeed....

John: But Dr. Danial, I think these verses, especially from the Bible, are taken out of context. If you read just the text it may look very violent. But if we read the text in relation with its context, it may be different..

DD: Oh, now you are being very sensible, John. You want the Muslims to read the Bible and interprete it within its context. Good, and I fully agree with you. But, can't you do the same thing to the Quran? Can't you interprete verses of the Quran within its context? As it is now you are not doing that. You are interpreting the Quran according to your own whims and fancies and that hurts me and the Muslims. By the way, the so called violent verses of the Quran that you mentioned earlier were revealed to prophet Muhammad specifically during the time of war. And war in Islam is an exception and not the norm. The Muslims went to war to defend their honour and country. Look at what Allah said in chapter The Cow 2:190, which means, "Fight against those who fight against you in the way of Allah, but do not transgress, for Allah does not love transgressors."

It should be emphasized that so many revelations in the Holy Quran came down to provide guidance to Prophet Muhammad and the Muslims based on what they were confronting at that time. Therefore, it is important to understand and know the historic context of the revelations for a proper understanding of these verses. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was the peace maker of his time. He endured torture, hunger and the killing of his loved ones by his enemies, but he remained a merciful person. In his most startling conquest of Mecca, only four people died. And do you know what prophet Muhammad did to the prisoners of war after the conquest of Mecca? He asked the haughty chiefs of the Quraisyites, "What do you expect at my hands?" They answered, "Mercy O generous brother." And the prophet said, "Be it so, you are free." They are free, John. No vengeance being inflicted upon them. No Guantanamo-like prison for them (smile). This is the teaching of Muhammad. And you are telling me that Muhammad taught Muslims to become terrorists?

John: Yeah, I need to learn more about Muhammad....

(Dr. Danial bin Zainal Abidin (M.B.Ch.B. University of Alexandria) is the Managing Director of Danial Zainal Consultancy based in Penang Island, Malaysia. This Consultancy focussed on education and research. He is also a Medical Practitioner based in Penang Island, Malaysia. Besides that he is also an author who, until now, has written altogether ten books. As a motivator, he gives motivation weekly through Mutiara FM (Penang Island Broadcasting Station). He is also a columnist for i-Magazine in Malaysia.)

(Dr. Danial bin Zainal Abidin (M.B.Ch.B. University of Alexandria) is the Managing Director of Danial Zainal Consultancy based in Penang Island, Malaysia. This Consultancy focussed on education and research. He is also a Medical Practitioner based in Penang Island, Malaysia. Besides that he is also an author who, until now, has written altogether ten books. As a motivator, he gives motivation weekly through Mutiara FM (Penang Island Broadcasting Station). He is also a columnist for i-Magazine in Malaysia.)

Some of the Books Written by Dr. Danial:
Islam The Misunderstood Religion.
Bahan Berdakwah Untuk Remaja Moden.
Kit Kombat Islam.
Perubatan Islam dan Bukti Sains Moden.
Bukti-bukti Sains dan Sejarah Kerasulan Muhammad.
Empayar Minda Muslim.
7 Formula Individu Cemerlang.
Tip-Tip Cemerlang Daripada Quran.